The Magic of the Four Pillars

Sometimes by the time a pregnant woman finds me, she’s exhausted. Not necessarily physically (although the first trimester can be a real doozy when it comes to fatigue!), but mentally. She’s tired of trying to sift through the good and the bad, trying to make the best possible decision from a litany of so-so info based on personal experience, friend’s stories, internet ramblings, and healthcare practitioners who don’t have enough time to answer all of their questions.

There aren’t a lot of resources out there for pregnant women (well, there aren’t a lot of good resources - though you can find plenty of “experts” spouting hot air), and pregnant women are at an incredibly vulnerable point in their lives. Flooded with information and misinformation, faced with choices that normally wouldn’t affect them in a non-pregnant state (Do I want ham or chicken on my salad? Well, is the ham deli meat? Isn’t deli meat bad? What was that, listeria? Yes, I’ll take chicken, thank you), and told to expect or even embrace things like swollen feet and sore backs, most women are seeking someone to be in their corner. They’re sick of being on the defensive. Whether they come to me through BIRTHFIT or from a referral from their care provider or best friend, the women who find me tend to breathe a sigh of relief when I offer them answers or a solution, and don’t just brush them off like others might.

No, I by no means have all the answers. But you know what I do have? Knowledge about the four pillars of BIRTHFIT: fitness, nutrition, chiropractic, and mindset. And you know what happens if you educate yourself in those four pillars? ABSOLUTE MAGIC.

Well, sort of.

There’s nothing magical about running or yoga or weightlifting. But preparing your body for the physical tasks of pregnancy, birth, and recovery postpartum beats the pants off of waddling around uncomfortably for 40+ weeks. There’s nothing magical about eating real, whole foods, either. But fueling your body with good nutrition sure beats scarfing down fast food when it comes to nurturing your body and your baby! There’s no magic to chiropractic. We make joints move better, help stabilize the joints that move too much, and improve the body’s ability to adapt to a changing environment (like a 25-50 pound weight gain within a calendar year). And there’s no magic to having the right mindset. Although things seem a little more magical if your mindset is one of growth, acceptance, and preparedness.

So when women come to me during their pregnancy, and I offer them more than the standard “it’ll all be over soon” platitude, they’re relieved. And not only do they move better from their chiropractic care and therefore feel better, they sometimes even start to *gasp* ENJOY their pregnancy. They accept the task of taking care of their body and their baby, not simply getting through the rest of pregnancy. They slow down the pace of their mind and their life to absorb all of the wonderful changes happening. Just like magic. The same thing happens in the postpartum period. Sick of feeling unstable or peeing their pants and being told that’s just a normal part of being a mom, women want answers; they want help and they want solutions. The foundation for these fixes lies in the four pillars and in building from a solid base of fitness, nutrition, chiropractic, and mindset.

The good news is, BIRTHFIT is growing; exponentially so. We’re all over the US and moving internationally. This is HUGE! Women and their partners everywhere are getting to experience the magic of the four pillars. Check out the Affiliate Map. Find a BIRTHFIT Affiliate in your area, or contact us to learn more about implementing the four pillars into your life and your pregnancy. And if you’re in the Raleigh, NC, area, come see me!

For those of you interested in learning more about my personal experience as a BIRTHFIT mom in terms of pregnancy, I invite you to check out my newly-released book, The First Trimester!